With all of this snow....

[Kevin Rooney]

I had forgotten about the drops of blood, Cath, but now that you mention it - those are what caught our eye and then we saw the ticks themselves. At first I thought maybe Brutus had cut a paw or something, but then realized it must have come from the moose.

 

[DougPaul]

Black fly Q&A. Question about pollinating blueberries about half-way down.
http://www.mainenature.org/blackfly/blackflyinfo.html

Also:
Shattering the folklore: black flies do not pollinate sweet lowbush blueberry
http://rparticle.web-p.cisti.nrc.ca...ume=78&year=&issue=&msno=z00-133&calyLang=fra

Doug

 

[bikehikeskifish]

What exactly is a tick sack? Is that just a swollen blood-storing part of a large tick? Even Google appears not to know

Tim

 

[DougPaul]

What exactly is a tick sack? Is that just a swollen blood-storing part of a large tick?

I presume Cath is referring to the blood-swollen abdomen of a well-fed tick.

Doug

 

[Paradox]

Kill the ticks! Kill the ticks! Kill the ticks! Kill the ticks! Kill the ticks! Kill the ticks! Kill the ticks! Kill the ticks! Kill the ticks!

KILL THE TICKS!!!!!!

 

[Mattl]

The best thing that can happen is a cool wet spring, that makes a less tick infested year. Last year was that way, and I never saw one tick. The year before was a very dry spring and was the worst tick year ever..-Mattl

 

[MonadnockVol]

12 ticks a day

Years ago I was studying Blue Monkeys in the Kibale Forest of Western Uganda. After a long day of following a blue monkey troop through the rain forest it was not uncommon to find a dozen ticks on me. One type seemed to specialize in going up into the nose. Prior to that time finding even one tick on me would give me the "heebie-jeebies" and I'd feel imaginary "ticks" for hours afterwards. But Kibale desensitized me: I just do a check at the end of the day and remove any freeloaders.

By the way, only the females bite...

- Monadnock Volunteer (aka Steve)

 

[jrichard]

One type seemed to specialize in going up into the nose.

Now that's just gross! I can't imagine trying to fish those nasties out.

But Kibale desensitized me: I just do a check at the end of the day and remove any freeloaders.

It's not the bite that bugs me so much, it's the disease it might transmit.

UNH says 50 to 70% of NH ticks have lyme disease, and I know folks who have gotten it apparently from their back yards. I think that compares with a much smaller percentage of disease-ridden mosquitos.